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Gerudo Skies
For Gerudo Skies! Gerudo Skies were a tag team consisting of Ganondorf and Zangief. Their team name is derived from Ganondorf's Gerudo heritage and Zangief's self-proclaimed status as "protector of the Russian skies." Gerudo Skies first formed in opposition to the Baz McMahon-Little Mac alliance and was one of the most dominant tag teams in VGCW history. They are former Co-Op Champions and successfully defended the titles a record three times over the course of 104 days, making them the longest reigning Co-Op Champions of their time, though their record would later be surpassed by Game Center FU. Upon losing the Co-Op titles, Ganondorf and Zangief decided to dissolve their team so they could focus on their singles careers. This seemingly amicable split soon turned sour however, as Ganondorf would turn on his friend, leading to a huge feud that culminated at End Game 5. In Season 10, the two briefly returned to compete together in the Tag Team Tournament. In VGCW Season 1: Gerudo Dawn The story of Gerudo Skies is a story of courage, friendship, and redemption. Zangief was going through a tough period in his life, as Baz McMahon had been screwing him out of victories that he had rightfully earned. It seemed like there was no end in sight to his troubles. Meanwhile, in the aftermath of the most humiliating loss ever witnessed in VGCW, former champion Ganondorf was dragged into the Little McMahon Saga when Little Mac walked into the ring and started badmouthing the former champion. Ganon was prepared to fight for his honor, and while he scared Mac out of his wits by sneaking up on him, he ended up suffering another embarrassing defeat. Mac prepared to beat Ganon while he was down, but Zangief, who had seen Mac pull one too many dirty tricks, rushed in to save his future partner. The two got their chance for revenge in a 2-on-2 match in which they fought Mac and the man pulling the strings, Baz McMahon. They won a hard-fought match, thereby restoring their honor, and proceeded to give the two the beating Mac tried to give Ganon earlier. Ganon's experience made him think twice about being one of the bad guys, and while he didn't make a complete face turn, he was no longer a heel. Their partnership having been a success, Zangief and Ganondorf decided to have Gerudo Skies stick around as a legitimate tag team, though their first attempt at clinching team gold met in failure at the hands of The Practice. Following that loss, the team went on hiatus for a few months. Season 2-3: Dominating the Division Gerudo Skies made its grand return to tag team competition in the Co-Op Tournament held on the 2013-02-10 broadcast, winning the whole thing after beating Raw Power, The Saiyans and GameCenter FU. They would beat The Returners soon after, making the Returners the first team to never successfully defend the titles. The two heavyweights displayed such dominance during the matches leading up to the title shot and the title shot itself that many wondered who could stand up to them. Their first defense was against The Elite Two on the 2013-02-28 show. Though generally thought of as a decent team, The Elite Two put forth a subpar performance and were only victorious thanks to THQuality rearing its ugly head and Zangief getting DQ'd after the Referee blocked Zangief and proceeded to count him out, even though Gerudo Skies was ahead in the match and Ganon was trying to score the pinfall for his team. The team did not lose their belts, as DQs do not affect belt standing. Season 4: Darkened Skies The second defense was against the Super Mario Bros. during the Season 4 opener and although Gerudo Skies faced much fiercer competition than expected, with the Brothers displaying amazing teamwork and Luigi even channeling his inner Mr. L, Gerudo Skies retained the titles by Zangief's comeback and Ganon's Gerudo Kick kept Mario down for the 3 count. The next pretenders to Gerudo Skies' belts were GameCenter FU, who earned a rematch against Gerudo Skies for the titles by dispatching the Game Grumps and the Elite Two. The fast-paced match took place on May 15th and Gerudo Skies managed to use their superior pacing and teamwork to easily secure a pin, with neither Chief Arino or AVGN being able to use a single finisher in retaliation. Following that victory, belief began to crystallize that no established team was capable of defeating Gerudo Skies and that it would take an alliance between two main event-caliber performers to dethrone the Dark Lord and the Red Cyclone. This theory would be tested outside of championship waters on May 29th when they faced Safety Valve. Though generally considered to be two of the league's best singles wrestlers and one of the only teams capable of going toe to toe with Gerudo Skies, the match was a gruesome affair, with Gerudo Skies' considerable tag team experience being too much for the separate efforts of Gabe Newell and Adam Jensen. With a convincing win over Safety Valve under their belts, few thought Zangief and Ganondorf's next opponents had a prayer. And yet, Gerudo Skies' reign over the tag team division would meet its end from the unlikeliest of challengers. Perhaps due to hubris, perhaps due to the new mandate that all tag team competition be conducted as Tornado Tags, or perhaps because you can never predict what will happen in the VGCW, Wario Ware Inc. took the tag team straps away from Gerudo Skies at End Game 4. In baffling opposition to how the match was supposed to play out, Waluigi got the better against Ganondorf while Wario also held against Zangief, damaging him enough so that when match-ups were switched, Waluigi was spry enough to get a surprise wheelbarrow victory roll got the three count on Zangief. Now bereft of their titles, Ganondorf and Zangief decided to end their partnership and return to singles competition. Season 5: The Sky is Falling On the 2013-07-20 broadcast, Zangief lost to Ezio Auditore and was about to get a chair beatdown until Ganondorf came in to make the save... or so the audience thought. Shockingly, the Dark Lord used Ezio's chair himself. The Gerudo Skies echoed with sounds of the thunderous chair shot delivered to Zangief's skull. The partnership that had led the two to the status of most dominant tag team in VGCW history had officially come to an end. Zangief would fire back, attacking after Ganondorf brutally beat the young trainer Red in a match, powerbombing him off the top of the stage. The two exchanged words and promos several times, with each trying to play mindgames with one another. Many would doubt Zangief's strength against Ganon, including Gerudo Skies' original enemy, Little Mac, who was now on much more friendly terms with The Red Cyclone. Despite this, Zangief would get a final burst of momentum, beating Dr. Eggman, while Ganondorf suffered a humiliating loss at the hands of Octodad. End Game Gerudo Skies were finally slated to meet each other in battle at End Game 5 in the co-main event: An Extreme Rules Match, the only true way to settle this blood feud. Many expected the worst, preparing for a harsh beatdown delivered to Zangief. Ganon however, severely underestimated his former friend. He was absolutely demolished, being busted open and assaulted with chairs, kendo sticks, crutches and even a mop. Zangief, in his rage, would get cocky and forgot the match objective; pinning his opponent. Ganon would use his veteran instincts to avoid Gief's attempts to cover. With victory in Zangief's hands, he fell for Ganondorf's last second bait and was caught in a Gerudo Valley Driver, the second in the match. In a last show of heart, Zangief kicked out, becoming the first to do so since Adam Jensen, and possibly the first to ever kick out after receiving 2 of them. With the ball now firmly in Ganon's court, he put down his once-comrade, bruised and battered, covered him for the 3 count. The tale of Gerudo Skies, the most devastating duo ever seen, starting as a story of courage, friendship and redemption, ended in betrayal, rage and brutality. Or so, we were led to believe. Season 10: Skies Clear for Takeoff. During Endgame 9, Ganondorf had absorbed the power of the Triforce and had used it to gain incredible power to challenge Nightmare Gabe. Alas, he failed in his attempt to stop him, and suffered for it. At the same time, his former partner Zangief had begun his campaign to regain his own status, and as Season 10 began he would prove himself against Sonic, Zubaz and even his old rival, Little Mac. With Ganondorf in a tag team of his own with Dracula and Zangief pushing himself higher up the rankings, what happened next shocked the whole VGCW audience. During the first round of the Season X Tag Team Tournament, the Birds of Prey would hear the familiar orchestral intro of Ganondorf...followed by the bouncy theme of Zangief, as they both walked out to the ring. After nearly two years of being broken up, Gerudo Skies had finally gotten over their quarrel and reunited in the ring. The poor birds found the skies were not welcome for them, and plummeted to the ground against the veterans pure power. While it looked like they would crush Double Dragon in the same way, the brothers kept saving each other from the devastating GVD's and were able to weather the reunited pair's strength, taking Gerudo Skies down like only three teams before them had ever done. They wouldn't appear again after taking the pin. Team Dynamic In the ring, Zangief would usually start off the match and soften opponents for Ganon to prey on and put down for the count, as even though Zangief did perform exceptionally well in tag team matches, Ganondorf ended every match for Gerudo Skies since the tag team tournament. Outside of the ring, both members of Gerudo Skies would often be filmed together in their locker room before big moments for Ganondorf, with Zangief acting as both support and coach for his partner, giving him encouragement and advice whenever appropriate. Zangief's counsel has generally been correct, which led to Ganondorf valuing his teammate's tactical input. Tag Team Record Gallery Mh3erTk.jpg GerudoSkiesProtected.png|Gerudo skies ready for protection Skieswin.jpg|Just because you are bad guy... Skiesprotected.jpg|...does not mean you are BAD guy. 2black2stronk.png|Zangief and Ganondorf, before joining forces